Jeff Reinhold, left, and Scott Meide, part of the crew of the B'Quest, relaxed aboard the ship yesterday before relocating her to a different slip. The B'Quest arrived in Honolulu yesterday as part of the Transpacific Yacht Race.
Rehabbing at Sea
Disabilities do not deter
the crew of the B'Quest
Urban Miyares is blind, hearing-impaired and has not walked in 38 years. But that did not stop him from helping crew a 40-foot sailboat in a grueling, 14-day race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
Miyares, 58, and five other crew members of the B'Quest-Challenged America arrived 21 minutes before midnight Sunday, tired but happy to have finished the 2,225-nautical mile Transpacific Yacht Race. Their boat was one of 75 that made the crossing, finishing in fourth place out of eight vessels in their division.
It was Miyares' second race, which is held every two years.
Except for skipper and navigator Joshua Ross, all the crew members have physical disabilities. Two have amputated legs; one has lost his right arm; another has spinal cord injuries that left him able to stand but hardly able to walk. Two have also survived cancer, and Miyares was in the acute stages of rejecting a kidney transplant when they set sail from San Diego on July 11.
"We pack more medications than food," joked Miyares. Their boat is stocked with IVs, defibrillators, catheters and duffle bags of medications. The vessel also is fitted with an elevator to bring crew members below deck and special chairs with belts and tethers that are bolted to the sides of the cockpit.
Miyares said that between repairs, boat adaptations, insurance and food, it cost about $127,000 to sail in the 43-year-old race.
Scott Meide, who is missing one arm, handled a line yesterday before moving the vessel to a different slip.
They did not, and by 1990 he was competing alongside other disabled sailors.
Today, the nonprofit, San Diego-based Challenged America sponsors a "therapeutic, recreational rehabilitation sailing program" that provides beginning and advanced sailing instruction.
"It's all about mental attitude," said crew member Jim Halverson, 66, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., who lost his leg above the knee two years ago and has also survived lung cancer.
When asked why he sails in major distance races and teaches "adaptive sailing" to others through Challenged America, he said: "Forget about your disabilities. Concentrate on your abilities and you can do a hell of a lot."
Miyares said he was thrilled to reach the halfway point of the race.
"Of course, we think of medical emergencies in the middle of the ocean. But we are equipped. Everyone manages their care, and we even have medication shifts aboard," said Miyares, who had medical problems during the trip and needed an IV. "In fact, if there were a medical emergency aboard another boat during the race, we would be the closest thing to a medical ship."
Miyares was a 20-year-old sergeant when he collapsed during a battle in Vietnam. He said that field medics, believing he was dead, put him in a body bag. Later, when another medic checked him before shipping him home, he discovered he was breathing. As it turned out, Miyares was suffering from what he said was a diabetic coma chemically induced by exposure to Agent Orange. He has since suffered strokes and other difficulties from Agent Orange and was even told he would not survive more than 20 years.
"Well, I'm 18 years past that deadline," Miyares said. "Nobody knows when they will die. Every day, you just have to live and enjoy the day."
www.challengedamerica.com/
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